Regardless of which stage a product is entering the pharmaceutical production line, keeping the work flow moving seamlessly without sacrificing safety and quality is paramount to any operation. Enter the compact workstation. From glove boxes to laser marking systems, these individual stations are helping the industry keep up with growing consumer, pharmacy and hospital demands.

Strap on the GlovesCompact and impermeable to ambient air, glove box workstations are effective tools for research and manufacturing environments requiring a controlled atmosphere. Used to manipulate substances sensitive to moisture and/or oxygen, these systems feature a sterile, stainless steel body and box pressure sensors for accurate environmental readouts and easy-to-use programmable logic controllers (PLC).

Safe LasersWhen space is limited, a compact laser marking workstation is a good choice for pharmaceutical or medical device companies looking to meet the parameters of the FDA’s Drug Quality and Security Act, which requires companies to facilitate the tracing of prescription drug products through the pharmaceutical supply distribution chain. The stations are ideal for device or product serialization, and a safety window acts as a buffer between the user and laser. These marking systems feature an integrated, programmable touch screen console to minimize user error. The technologies can be used for a variety of setups including small or large character coding on plastics, metals or flexible packages.

Discovering Space-Saving SolutionsPharma EXPO (Nov. 2-5; McCormick Place, Chicago), co-produced by the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) and PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, will serve as a resource for compact workstation technologies for the pharmaceutical manufacturing line. Additionally, the show will offer a wide range of processing and packaging solutions, as well as a world-class conference program for the pharmaceutical, medical device, nutraceutical and biotechnology industries. Co-located with PACK EXPO International 2014, the two events are expected to offer 2,000 exhibitor solutions, attract 50,000 attendees and create numerous opportunities for a cross-pollination of ideas between industries.